LANSING — Gov. Jennifer Granholm will have to wait longer to sign broad energy legislation that includes a requirement that more of the state's electricity come from wind and other renewable sources.

The Democratic governor wanted lawmakers to pass a plan Thursday before she leaves Monday for a trade trip to Japan, where she plans to meet with alternative energy companies.

But the Legislature adjourned until next week because a deal wasn't reached. Talks will continue.

"We're confident we have the framework of an agreement that will be ready for passage next week," Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said.
Granholm has urged state regulators to look into requiring more green energy if lawmakers don't act.

Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said if regulators are authorized to set renewable goals, the governor should have asked for their help years ago.

Bishop said legislators want to make Michigan less reliant on traditional sources of energy.

"It's the cost that concerns us," he said.

Other observers, however, say electricity created by wind is on par with or cheaper than power coming from expensive new coal-fired or nuclear plants.

There appears to be agreement on a bill that would limit competition facing the state's two dominant, regulated utilities: DTE Energy and Consumers Energy. Utilities say they need a guaranteed customer base before building new power plants. Competitors counter that utilities don't need the guarantees and are really trying to regain their monopoly status to the detriment of customers.

The bigger fight for now is over what's known as a renewable portfolio standard, or RPS, which would mandate that 10 percent of Michigan's electricity come from renewable sources by the end of 2015. Granholm says the requirement would boost the economy by creating a market for in-state companies making wind turbines.

Lawmakers want to cap how much it would cost customers to pay for green power, but critics argue the way they're doing it is strange and ultimately a bad deal for residential customers.

Another measure in the legislation would add a small monthly fee to customers' bills to re-establish energy-efficiency programs canceled in the 1990s. Backers say the programs would save people money through more efficient appliances, for example, and by cutting down on the number of new power plants that are needed.